Bournemouth has been revealed as a divorce 'hotspot'

Research conducted by family law solicitors, Cordell & Cordell, investigated online searches around divorce over the last year.

The research found that approximately 280 searches enquiries about how to find a divorce solicitor were made online every month in Bournemouth – representing one of the highest rates in the country.

Bournemouth ranked at number three in the table of UK divorce hotspots.

The number of searches around finding a divorce solicitor in each city/town compared to each area’s population size was also investigated.

This revealed that Bournemouth had the highest number of searches per person compared to any other major urban area.

Cordell & Cordell’s family law solicitor, Stephanie Kelly said: “We have been seeing a surprising number of enquiries from people exploring their options, either because of existing issues in their relationships that have come to a head while isolating together, or because one spouse has been caught out as being unfaithful.

“Often, unfaithful spouses are less able to hide and maintain extramarital affairs without leaving the house and minor disagreements can become intensified.”

The new research comes as legal experts and Citizen Advice anticipate a rise in UK divorces due to the strain that the pandemic has been having on marriages.

Although official divorce rates for 2020 will not be released until the autumn of thus year, the latest figures from the Office of National Statistics shows that divorces in the UK surged by 18.24 per cent year-on-year in 2019 – the highest level in five years.